Posable Toy and Method of Interconnection

ABSTRACT

A toy with a frame assembly having a plurality of frame members each having a gear and centering aperture. Each gear has a plurality of rounded tetrahedral teeth. A flexible fastener connects the first and second frame members together with their gears in alignment with one another. The flexible fastener applies a force to the first and second gears to releasably engage said first and second gears with one another.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 13/078,904 filed by the present inventors on Apr. 1, 2011.

The aforementioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

None.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field Of The Invention

The present invention relates to toys, and more particularly, to toy animals or other figures.

2. Brief Description Of The Related Art

Applicable to plush, plastic, rubber and other toys, and extendable to connection of any two similar objects, this method of interconnection utilizes aesthetic features of the toy itself to alloy interconnection in a safe and secure way, without the use of snaps and pins that can cause a safety hazard to young children. The proposed method also allows for interconnection of multiple toys to create a toy chain as well as an adapter that allows for toys that embody this feature to be connected to clothing, back packs, shoes as an accessory. By extension of this basic interconnection method, any two or more objects can be connected this same way.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is a soft toy with an interior frame that may be releasably held in a plurality of different positions or poses. The toys may be made of multiple colors of fake fur, felt, wire (or other methods of posing plush toys known in the art), buttons, plastic eyes, thread, cotton or poly fill & similar materials. The toys may be poseable in any position from a ball to fully open with, for example, a pom pom tail in either position out the back. When closed, the toys may be, for example, a furry, round ball with two eyes and a tail with a furry pom-pom at the end of the tail. When opening, the ball is transformed to a creature with ears, legs, arms, body “with pouch” and captivatingly friendly face. What was the furry ball closed, becomes the colorful furry back of a body with eyes in the back of its head.

Toys in accordance with the present invention can be linked together, or interconnected, forming a chain of toys (FIG. 2). This is done by, first, insert and tuck the pom-pom tip of the tail of toy 102 into the pouch of toy 100, then, fold in the ears, arms, legs and close toy 100 over the tail of toy 102, now those two toys are linked together or interconnected. Further, insert and tuck the pom-pom tip of the tail of another toy 104 into the pouch of toy 102, then close toy 102 over the tail of toy 104, now all three toys are linked or interconnected, and so on.

Toys can be connected or linked to almost anything with the connector accessory (FIG. 3). The connector accessory is a Jibball tail with a pom-pom on one end and a loop string on the other, the loop string can be attached to a zipper (jacket, backpack) or a shoelace run through it, or looping back on itself around any opening (button hole, etc). Additionally, the tail can be wrapped around an object of suitable size, and then tucked back into its own pouch connecting the toy to other objects as well as other Jibballs, using the same linking or connecting method as described above.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is a toy having a frame assembly for posing, opening and closing the toy. The toy frame assembly comprises a plurality of frame portions of a suitable material, geometry and configuration to support outer materials and assembly of outer materials to the frame portion for the toy, each of the frame portions having alignment aperture and a gear feature comprising a plurality of gear teeth configured radially outward from the alignment aperture, wherein two or more the frame portions are placed adjacent one another with their respective alignment apertures aligned and gear portions overlapping. A flexible fastener is placed thru the alignment apertures to join the two or more the frame portions together, wherein the flexible fastener applies pressure to the overlapping gears. Each gear may comprise a plurality of teeth designed in a rounded edge tetrahedral configuration such that a mating gear of an opposing frame portion, also of a rounded edge tetrahedral configuration, allows for a controlled gear engagement and disengagement. The rounded edge, radial tetrahedral gears define a number of discrete positions for posing the toy. The rounded edge, radial tetrahedral gear teeth are reduced to a textured surface to almost smooth providing near-continuous positioning of the toy. The plurality of fame portions are formed from polycarbonate materials in the preferred embodiment, however a broad range of materials can be used.

In another preferred embodiment, the present invention is a posable toy having a frame assembly. The frame assembly comprises a first frame member having first and second ends, the first and second ends each having a gear, a second frame member having first and second ends, the first and second ends each having a gear, a third frame member having first and second ends, the first and second ends each having a gear, wherein the first end of the third frame member is connected to the first end of the first frame member in an overlapping fashion such that mating gears mesh, and held in place by use of a flexible fastener, and the second end of the third frame member is connected to the first end of the second frame member in an over lapping fashion such that gears mesh, and held in place by use of a flexible fastener, and a fourth frame member having first and second ends, the first and second ends each having a gear, wherein the first end of the fourth frame member is connected to the second end of the first frame member in an overlapping fashion such that mating gears mesh, and held in place by use of a flexible fastener, and the second end of the fourth frame member is connected to the second end of the second frame member in an overlapping fashion such that mating gears mesh, and held in place by use of an overlapping fastener. Each of the gears of the third and fourth frame members opposes a gear of one of the first and second frame members. The first and second frame members are movable toward and away from one another and the gears engage and then disengage, by the travel allowance and constant tension applied by a flexible fastener, the first and second frame members in a plurality of different positions. By design of components of the frame assembly, for the preferred embodiment, the mating gears require a force of 2-3 pounds to disengage and move through each posing position, appropriate for a young child.

In yet another preferred embodiment, the toy frame assemble comprises a first frame member having a first gear and a centering aperture, the first gear comprising a plurality of rounded tetrahedral teeth, a second frame member having a second gear and a centering aperture, the second gear comprising a plurality of rounded tetrahedral teeth, and a flexible fastener for connecting the first and second frame members together with the first gear and the second gear in alignment with one another, wherein the flexible fastener applies a force to the first and second gears to releasably engage the first and second gears with one another. The second frame member has two gears having rounded tetrahedral teeth and two centering apertures. The frame assembly further has a third frame member having a third gear and a centering aperture, the third gear comprising a plurality of rounded tetrahedral teeth and a second flexible fastener for connecting the second and third frame members together with the third gear in alignment with one of the two gears of the second frame member, wherein the flexible fastener applies a force to the aligned gears to releasably engage the gears with one another.

Still other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description, simply by illustrating a preferable embodiments and implementations. The present invention is also capable of other and different embodiments and its several details can be modified in various obvious respects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive. Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a posable toy in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention in an “open” position.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a plurality of toys in accordance with a preferred embodiment in a sequence of connection. This figure shows how the basic elements needed for connection are implemented, as well as how that connection is strengthened by second step or connection, the novel use of a new belay device that is formed when the tail of first toy is folded back over the outside of the pouch, and then the first toy is closed over the tail of the second.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the accessory connection tail. This figure shows how the toy or object can be connected to any other toy, object, article of clothing, back packs etc, by connecting the toy to the accessory connection tail, then connecting the accessory connection tail to the other object, by a variety on known methods.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a frame assembly of a posable toy in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is an end view of an upper or lower portion of a frame of a posable toy in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5B is a side view of a portion of an upper or lower portion of a frame of a posable toy in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a side view of a connector extension hinge of a frame of a posable toy in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6B is a end view of a connector extension hinge of a frame of a posable toy in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7A is a diagram of a geared portion of an upper or lower portion of a connector extension hinge of a frame of a posable toy in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Geometry and dimensions of the gear teeth, 720, along with the flexibility of the material and dimensions used for flexible fastener 230, to assemble the frame, 210, to the connector extension hinge, 220, determine the opening and closing force for the frame assembly, 200.

FIG. 7B is a detail end view of a geared portion of an upper or lower portion of a connector extension hinge of a frame of a posable toy in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7C is a detail end view of a geared portion of an upper or lower portion of a frame of a posable toy in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Geometry and dimensions of the rounded edge tetrahedral gear teeth, FIG. 7D, 720, along with the flexibility of the material and dimensions used for fastener, 230, to assemble the frame, 210, to the connector extension hinge, 220, determine the opening and closing force for the frame assembly, 200, of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7D is a detail view of a rounded tetrahedral edge gear segment, or tooth of portion of an upper or lower portion of a frame of a posable toy in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7E is a side view of a flexible fastener of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 8A-8C is a perspective view of a nub illustrating how a posable toy of the present invention can connect to a toy, by example a nub, with protrusions similar to a tail feature or other housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1-7, a first toy 100 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention has a body 110 having a pouch or pocket 120. It further has a plurality of arms 130 legs 140 and an extension 150, for example, in the form of a tail having a pom pom 152 at is distal end.

With two toys 100, 102 constructed in accordance with the present invention, the second toy 102 can have an extension placed into the pocket 120 of the first toy 100. The extension of the second toy can be a tail with, or without a pom-pom or a straight tail, a tail tailored or tapered to a narrower end or wider end, or one that can be partially rolled up to form a ball or pom-pom shape, or be formed in a similar shape like a tear drop or beaver tail. As shown in FIG. 3, the extension may be detachable, in which case is may have an elongated portion 160, a pom pom 162 at one end of the elongated portion, and a clip or other attachment mechanism 164 at a second end of the elongated portion.

The first toy or object 100 has within its body 110 a frame assembly 200 such that the first toy will close over the tailored extension of toy 102 holding the tailored extension in the pocket 120 and fold over the pocket 150 to make a firm connection. The frame assembly 200 has polycarbonate frame upper and lower portions 210 and a polycarbonate connector extension 220 on each side. While the upper and lower portions 210 are shown to be equal in length in FIG. 4, other arrangements also are possible. Also, while the upper and lower portions are shown at the top and bottom in FIG. 4, the same arrangement may be rotated such that they are right and left portions or at any angle. The upper and lower portions are connected to the connector extension with a flexible fastener 230 placed through alignment apertures (holes) 730 and 732 in the connector extension and the frame upper and lower portions. The frame upper and lower portions 210 each have a gear 700 and each end to mate with gears 702 on the end of each connector extension 220. Each gear 700, shown in FIGS. 7C and 7D, has a plurality of rounded tetrahedral teeth 720, each of which has sides 722 and 724. The gears 702, shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, are the inverse of gears 700 and effectively are rounded tetrahedral indentations in the connector extensions 220. The gears 702 alternatively could be designed in that same manner as gears 700 with teeth protruding from the extension connectors. The designed in force required to lock/then release the rounded edge tetrahedral gear portions is the force required to pose, open or close the toy(s). The hardness and coefficient of friction of the materials determine the level of improved reliability over the prior art. As the gear teeth wear down, the force required to lock or release becomes less as the wearing surfaces become smooth, providing a safety improvement in the wear out mechanisms over the prior art. The posing, opening or closing force is dependent on the material choices, use of the coefficient friction between the surfaces and shaping or texturing of the frame portions, geometry and dimensioning of the rounded edge tetrahedral gear teeth or indentations combined with the tension developed by the fit and flexibility of and type of flexible fastener used to join the frame assembly.

The flexible fastener 230 is designed not only to hold the frame portions together, but also to apply an appropriate force to the frame portions to allow for the gears with rounded tetrahedral teeth to engage and disengage (or lock and unlock) such that the frame members may be controllable moved and positioned. An exemplary fastener is shown in FIG. 7E. The flexible fastener 230 has a stem 232 a pair of prongs 234 at a distal end of the fastener 230 a head 236 at a proximal end of the fastener 230 and a pair of secondary prongs 238 on the head. When the fastener 230 is inserted into the alignment apertures during assembly, the prongs 234 are compressed as the travel through the alignment apertures. During insertion, the head 236 is pressed against the frame portions to flex prongs 238 and allow the prongs 234 to extend through to the far sides of the alignment apertures and snap into place. Once the prongs 234 snap into place, they hold the fastener in place. In that position, the prongs 238 place resistance on the frame portions to hold the gears 700, 702 together. Other spring loaded or similar types of fasteners can be used but need to be designed and optimized for the intended application.

To increase the strength of the connection between a plurality of toys, the first toy can incorporate features, such as foldable ears 160, arms 130 and legs 140 or other protrusions that also fold in over the second toy pom-pom 152 and or tail when being closed to hold the pom-pom and or tail of the second toy in place. Alternatively, the pom-pom, tear drop shape or beaver tail widening, or balled up end of a straight or narrowing portion of tail such that the end of a tailored extension can be slightly larger than the pouch or pocket opening when fully relaxed. It must also be made of a compressible material that, when compressed, is smaller than the pocket or pouch opening such the insertion is simple and easy for a young child to accomplish. Once released, the pom-pom or similar shape will extend to a size slightly larger than the pocket opening, forming the first connection of the two toys. In this alternate case, foldable extensions (in this case; ears, arms or legs) are not necessary to form a good first connection. The pocket must be large enough to allow the tail end (FIGS. 1-3) expand to relaxed size. This feature also allows the toy to connect to any other object of suitable size (tail is long enough to encircle the object) by wrapping the tail around the object and tucking in back into the same toy's own pocket or pouch.

The force required to pull the pom-pom 152, tail or similar extension of toy 102 or similar out of the pocket 120 is increased by folding the tailored extension of toy 102 over the pocket of toy 100 and in a direction to go back over the tailored extension in the pocket of toy 100 as it exits toy 100, then closing toy 100 over the exiting tailored extension of toy 102, by means of an internal mechanism or frame, holds this folded position, essentially putting connected toy 102 “on belay” with toy 100 (a technique used in mountain climbing to greatly reduce the forces on a climbing line from the climber to the belay person). In this case, the pocket and closing of the pocketed toy over the extension from the connected toy, by means of an internal mechanism or frame, essentially form a new type of belay device. Here, no clips, snaps or pins are used to make the connection more secure. Just proper sizing, shaping or tailoring and placement of soft safe toy materials to within another toys pouch or pocket, using materials and new safer internal mechanisms or any other posing mechanisms proven in the prior state of the art for toy making.

The frame assembly 200 shows a safer and more reliable alternative to posing methods, and or opening and closing methods of the prior art. One example of the prior art is metal wire that is bendable or poseable, however, metal wire has very limited life in posing applications and therefore unreliable as wire fatigues without many bends or changes in pose and, when a metal wire fatigues it becomes brittle, then breaks or separates typically leaving sharp edges at the break sections of metal that can punch to the exterior of the toy or posable object and possibly injure the person posing/bending the wire, becoming a safety hazard to the user. The frame assembly 200 can be made of a variety of materials, uses a gear mechanism and/or friction between the frame ends 700 and overlapping frame ends 700 or extension hinge ends 702 that are assembled together with a flexible fastener 230, to determine the number of positions, from continuous to multi-positional, and force necessary to open and close the frame assembly. While the preferred embodiment is described herein includes connector extensions 220, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that the upper and lower frame portions could be connected directly to one another or a plurality of varying frame portions could be connected to one another. The opening and closing force of the frame assembly is dependent on the material choices, friction on the surface of frame ends 700 and overlapping frame ends 700 or connector extension ends 702, when smooth, or the friction, geometry and dimensions of the gear teeth 720 and mating gear teeth of another frame end, 720, or gear teeth of connector extension ends, 702, combined with the fit and flexibility of and type of fastener 230 used to make the frame assembly 200. The opening and closing force of the frame assembly allows for additional control of the strength of the connection of the toy to another object and for the strength of interconnection between a plurality of toys or objects as shown in FIG. 1B.

An example of another type of toy or object embodying a tailored extension that can be used to connect to another toy is shown in FIGS. 8A-8C. The FIG. 800 has a body 810 having a plurality of extensions 820 protruding therefrom. Each extension has a tear drop shape such that the entire body 810 can be covered in tailored extensions or protrusions 820 in the shape of a tear drop. A closing toy or object 100 with a pouch or pocket connects to the protrusion 820 by having the tear drop extension placed into the pocket or pouch and the interconnecting toy or object closes over the tear drop extension. Mechanisms to form a pocket or pouch, are embodied in the prior art. Mechanisms for posing or closing the toy can be new safer mechanisms as described herein, or by using those embodied in prior art. This clamping method can be directly extended to any other two or multiple objects that also can include the three basic elements, folding object 1 with pouch or pocket to an object 2 with tail (shown in FIG. 1).

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto, and their equivalents. The entirety of each of the aforementioned documents is incorporated by reference herein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A toy comprising: a frame assembly for posing, opening and closing said toy said frame, said frame assembly comprising: a plurality of frame portions of a suitable material, geometry and configuration to support outer materials and assembly of outer materials to said frame portion for said toy, each of said frame portions having alignment aperture and a gear feature comprising a plurality of gear teeth configured radially outward from said alignment aperture, wherein two or more said frame portions are placed adjacent one another with their respective alignment apertures aligned and gear portions overlapping; and a flexible fastener thru said alignment apertures to join the two or more said frame portions together, wherein said flexible fastener applies pressure to said overlapping gears.
 2. A toy according to claim 1, wherein each said gear comprises a plurality of teeth designed in a rounded edge tetrahedral configuration such that a mating gear of an opposing frame portion, also of a rounded edge tetrahedral configuration, allows for a controlled gear engagement and disengagement.
 3. A toy according to claim 1 wherein said rounded edge, radial tetrahedral gear define a number of discrete positions for posing said toy.
 4. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said rounded edge, radial tetrahedral gear teeth are reduced to a textured surface to almost smooth providing near-continuous of said toy.
 5. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of fame portions are formed from polycarbonate materials.
 6. A toy comprising: a frame comprising: a first frame member having first and second ends, said first and second ends each having a gear; a second frame member having first and second ends, said first and second ends each having a gear; a third frame member having first and second ends, said first and second ends each having a gear, wherein said first end of said third frame member is connected to said first end of said first frame member in an overlapping fashion such that mating gears mesh, held in place by use of a flexible fastener, and said second end of said third frame member is connected to said first end of said second frame member in an over lapping fashion such that gears mesh, held in place by use of a flexible fastener; and a fourth frame member having first and second ends, said first and second ends each having a gear, wherein said first end of said fourth frame member is connected to said second end of said first frame member in an overlapping fashion such that mating gears mesh, held in place by use of a flexible fastener, and said second end of said fourth frame member is connected to said second end of said second frame member in an overlapping fashion such that mating gears mesh, held in place by use of an overlapping fastener; wherein each of said gears of said third and fourth frame members opposes a gear of one of said first and second frame members; wherein said first and second frame members are movable toward and away from one another and said gears engage and then disengage, by the travel allowance and constant tension applied by a flexible fastener, said first and second frame members in a plurality of different positions.
 7. A toy according to claim 6 wherein said mating gears require a force of 2-3 pounds to disengage.
 8. A toy comprising: a frame assembly comprising: a first frame member having a first gear and an aperture, said first gear comprising a plurality of rounded tetrahedral teeth; a second frame member having a second gear and an aperture, said second gear comprising a plurality of rounded tetrahedral teeth; and a flexible fastener for connecting said first and second frame members together with said first gear and said second gear in alignment with one another, wherein said fastener applies a force to said first and second gears to releasably engage said first and second gears with one another.
 9. A toy according to claim 8 wherein said second frame members has two gears having rounded tetrahedral teeth and two apertures and said toy further comprises: a third frame member having a third gear and an aperture, said third gear comprising a plurality of rounded tetrahedral teeth; and a second flexible fastener for connecting said second and third frame members together with said third gear in alignment with one of said two gears of said second frame member, wherein said flexible fastener applies a force to said aligned gears to releasably engage said gears with one another. 